Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Shell offsets emissions with efficient stoves in Africa
19 Apr 2021
Sustainable energy services provider C-Quest Capital has signed a deal with Shell Eastern Trading to fund the generation of more than 60 million carbon credits using clean cookstoves in Africa.
Indian government country's biggest investor in coal-fired generators
19 Apr 2021
Government support and public money investment into coal is the only factor keeping India away from shrinking its coal capacity. The latest data shows that private sector has taken a step back and almost all coal-fired power plants which are under construction belong to the public sector.
UN chief calls for revolution in city planning
19 Apr 2021
Media release - The United Nations Secretary-General, on Friday, called for a “revolution” in urban planning and urban transport to beat back impacts of climate change and build a green and sustainable future for all.
Best by the rest...
16 Apr 2021
The New Zealand Herald has published a series of articles in recent days as its contribution to Covering Climate Now's "Living Through the Climate Emergency" week of coverage in the lead up to Earth Day.
10 YEARS AGO...
16 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, Solid Energy said the Government was wrong to listen to Pike River Coal's advice on methane gas emissions from coal mines.
Europe risks €87 billion in stranded fossil gas assets
15 Apr 2021
Europe is building or planning to build €87 billion worth of fossil gas infrastructure in a continued expansion of pipelines and LNG terminals, despite the need to halve emissions by 2030.
Aboriginals fight new coal mine
13 Apr 2021
With support from the Australian government, the Adani corporation is pushing ahead with an environmentally destructive coal mine in Queensland. But the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land, the Wangan and Jagalingou nation, are waging a determined fight to stop them.
Unions call for a just transition
12 Apr 2021
Unions are calling for large-scale public investment as part of a “just transition” to a carbon-zero future in their submissions to the Climate Commission’s draft report.
Emissions and economy decoupling
12 Apr 2021
A new study has found that economic growth and total greenhouse gas emission have been decoupled in 32 developed nations - including New Zealand... just.
NZ emissions down, household emissions up
9 Apr 2021
The good news is that New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions were down in the year to December 2020, the not so good news is that that same month saw household emissions reach their highest ever level.
The week in review
9 Apr 2021
The week that was: The PM accepts invite to virtual climate summit; slow burn on coal boiler shutdown; renewable energy stocks tumble, and the kids hit the streets.
The decline of coal in China
9 Apr 2021
When President Xi Jinping committed China to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 at the UN General Assembly, this was good news for many, including electric vehicle manufacturers and the renewable energies industries. One sector that stands to lose is the coal industry.
NSW's big ugly coal problem
9 Apr 2021
On Wednesday this week, the New South Wales Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Industry and Trade John Barilaro stood next to a train packed with coal, hurtling past metres away as he espoused the benefits of coal mining (sadly, he failed to literally salute it, as he had promised in the tweet).
Government bans new coal boilers
8 Apr 2021
New coal boilers used in manufacturing and production are to be banned by the end of the year, the government announced today.
Where £100 can make you a solar entrepreneur
8 Apr 2021
In Bath, England, even the smallest investors can support – and profit from – the city’s green energy boom.
Renewable LPG the answer
7 Apr 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - Renewable LPG can supply New Zealand’s LPG needs and achieve the emissions reductions proposed by the Climate Commission without the need to ban new connections, a new study shows.
MBIE seeking feeback on insulation
7 Apr 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - MBIE is asking for feedback on whether New Zealanders think the Building Code should be updated to require more insulation in new homes and buildings. The proposals also suggest adopting new climate zones to better reflect the New Zealand environment.
Zimbabwean teen leads fight for climate
7 Apr 2021
Zimbabwean teenager Nkosilathi Nyathi has introduced solar power to his school and his now campaigning globally to fight climate change.
10 YEARS AGO...
7 Apr 2021
Ten years ago British electricity generators were facing a minimum carbon price of 16 quid a tonne - more than twice being paid by those in NZ at the time.
NZ Initiative: leave it to the ETS
6 Apr 2021
An NZU price of $50 is all that’s needed to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the NZ Initiative.
Climate strikers are back
6 Apr 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - The Youth of NZ will once again be standing up for climate action on April 9th of 2021. From Auckland to Dunedin and everywhere in between we will demand fast and effective climate action.
Biden says plan will 'finally' address climate change
1 Apr 2021
United States President Joe Biden says his new infrastructure plan will allow “transformational progress in our ability to tackle climate change” by bolstering investments in clean energy, electric vehicles and building homes resilient to threats posed by the climate crisis.
Fossil-fuel shares fall while clean energy is on the rise
1 Apr 2021
The value of share offerings in fossil fuel companies has dropped by almost 20 per cent since 2012, while low-carbon companies gained ground in a shift towards clean energy, a report by think-tank Carbon Tracker show.
'We hear you,' Govt tells worried manufacturers
31 Mar 2021
The country’s largest building company is calling for tariffs to protect local manufacturers from unfair competition from imports with higher carbon footprints – and the Government says it is listening.
Be careful with price controls, says Z
31 Mar 2021
Fuel retailer Z Energy says the Climate Commission’s advice on raising the cost containment trigger price of NZUs risks participants stockpiling NZU, affecting liquidity.
Helping small businesses cut their carbon
31 Mar 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw today launched a Climate Change Toolkit which he jokingly said was for the “other 97 per cent” of businesses.
EU experts to say nuclear power is a green investment
31 Mar 2021
Experts tasked with assessing whether the European Union should label nuclear power as a green investment will say that the fuel qualifies as sustainable, according to a leaked document.
How voluntary offsets can help us meet our Paris promise
30 Mar 2021
New Zealand should have a two-pronged voluntary carbon-offsetting framework to boost climate change, a new report says.
Tyre burner cements in emissions cuts
30 Mar 2021
Greenhouse gas emissions at New Zealand’s only cement-manufacturing plant will be cut by 13,000 tonnes a year – and it’s all down to tyres.
Shell to link execs' pay to climate performance
30 Mar 2021
Royal Dutch Shell proposes linking its directors' pay more closely to the group's climate performance and severing the link between bonuses and liquefied natural gas production volumes.
We could be cooking with hydrogen by 2030
29 Mar 2021
New Zealand could start using a hydrogen-blended gas by 2030 and 100 per cent "green" hydrogen by mid-century.
Big methane cut and free public transport needed, expert tells ClimCom
29 Mar 2021
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change author Bronwyn Hayward has told the Climate Change Commission its draft recommendations are not ambitious enough and larger cuts need to be made in biogenic methane emissions.
Australia can replace oil & gas with renewables - report
29 Mar 2021
Renewable energy and batteries can secure Australia’s electricity grid as effectively as coal and gas, new research suggests.
Gas-led recovery? Probably not, says AEMO
29 Mar 2021
The Australian Energy Market Operator says gas could disappear from that country's grid because it can't compete with renewables and green hydrogen.
The real reason humans are the dominent species
29 Mar 2021
Energy is the key to humanity's world domination. Not just the jet fuel that allows us to traverse entire continents in a few hours, or the bombs we build that can blow up entire cities, but the vast amounts of energy we all use every day.
Farage...from Ukip leader to green finance spokesman
29 Mar 2021
He has criticised Greta Thunberg for “alarmism” and wind power as “economic insanity”.
Listen to experts on hydrogen, Minister says
26 Mar 2021
Companies getting excited about using hydrogen as a major energy source need to listen to the warnings of experts, the Climate Minister says.
Contact Energy: Hands-off our Ohaaki
26 Mar 2021
Contact Energy wants all revenues from the Emissions Trading Scheme to be ring-fenced for decarbonisation projects.
MERIDIAN: EVs and low-carbon boilers are key
26 Mar 2021
Meridian Energy has come out in favour of a feebate scheme for electric vehicles and government intervention to speed up the conversion of fossil-fuel boilers to electricity.
Most Kiwis don't know how to cut their carbon footprints
25 Mar 2021
Nearly 60 per cent of New Zealanders say they lack the information necessary to change their personal or household carbon footprints.
Small nuclear power plants no use in climate crisis
25 Mar 2021
Claims that a new generation of so-called advanced, safe and easier-to-build nuclear reactors (small nuclear power plants) will be vital to combat climate change are an illusion, and the idea should be abandoned, says a group of scientists.
Climate change benefits include better health, quieter streets, cleaner water
24 Mar 2021
Government must encourage the benefits that come from climate change action, including health improvements, quieter streets, cleaner water and increased biodiversity through more native forests, He Pou a Rangi, the Climate Change Commission, says.
What lobby groups are asking supporters to say
23 Mar 2021
Lobby groups from Greenpeace to the Taxpayers’ Union are encouraging supporters to make submissions on the ClimCom draft report by using their templates and suggested talking points.
Incinerator could go carbon-negative
23 Mar 2021
A waste-to-energy plant in the Norwegian capital could become one of the world’s first carbon-negative incinerators, pending a decision from the European Commission to fund a carbon dioxide capture facility there. Environmentalists, for their part, are yet to be convinced.
Japan and China back coal despite Paris pledges
22 Mar 2021
Japan and China remain among the world’s top coal industry lenders and underwriters, says a report, despite both countries declaring intent ions to go carbon-neutral as part of their commitments to climate target set out in the Paris Agreement.
Industry calls for hydrogen blending into gas
22 Mar 2021
More than 90 energy companies, equipment manufacturers and gas network operators have called on the European Commission to consider hydrogen blending into natural gas for parts of Europe that cannot yet afford a dedicated hydrogen network.
Aviation fuel from food waste could cut emissions
22 Mar 2021
Food waste could be instrumental in producing sustainable aviation fuel, according to a recent study.
EV subsidy plan causes division
19 Mar 2021
Toyota New Zealand will continue to push for financial incentives for those buying electric vehicles when it responds to the ClimCom draft report.
Japan's car--making heavyweights could be facing an electric shock
19 Mar 2021
Japan’s traditional car-making giants need to raise their game in the race to develop pure, battery-driven electric vehicles or risk being left behind by Chinese, American and European producers, analysts are warning.
IEA warns petrol demand may never recover
19 Mar 2021
Gasoline demand may never recover to pre-pandemic levels, the International Energy Agency says, with increased use in developing countries offset by rising fuel efficiency and a switch to electric vehicles in wealthy nations.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
From war to weather: A ‘super El Niño’ event poses fresh risks to global food costs
Fri 10 Apr 2026
An unusually powerful El Niño later this year could exacerbate food security fears as disruption caused by the Iran war strains supply for crucial fertilier products.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Media round-up
Fri 10 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Past fuel price spikes failed to shift Kiwis out of their cars with signs suggesting it’s happening again, a 'she’ll be right' attitude is not enough in a climate crisis, and should forestry be listed as critical in the government's national fuel plan?
Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.
New alliance wants renewable-led energy – and Govt to press pause on LNG
Thu 9 Apr 2026
A newly formed coalition of business, consumer and energy organisations has unveiled a renewable-led strategy it says will strengthen the country’s energy security, and it’s calling on the Government to pause its plan for an LNG import terminal.
Carbon ‘stockpile’ up 9 million in March quarter
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The ‘stockpile’ of pollution permits (NZUs) in private accounts has increased by just over 9 million to almost 145 million since the end of 2025, according to the latest figures from the Environmental Protection Authority.
India pulls out of bid to host UN climate summit
Fri 10 Apr 2026
Climate experts term the decision as a setback and surprise as India had been using the proposed summit to position itself as climate leader of the Global South.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Activist ends five-day tree-top protest at West Coast coal mine
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A climate activist has ended a five-day tree-top occupation that blocked access to Bathurst Resources’ Cypress Mine on the West Coast, in a protest against plans to expand what could become New Zealand’s largest coal mine.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Tue 7 Apr 2026
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Climate change means a 2004-level flood would likely be worse today
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Rebecca Hogan, Local Democracy Reporter | If floods equivalent to the devastating 2004 event hit Manawatū today, it is predicted the outcome would be more extreme “as a result of climate change”.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
A matter of strategy
Tue 7 Apr 2026
COMMENT: Even on the brink of a global commodities crisis, the possibilities for climate action aren't hopelessly foreclosed. Strategy can turn our fortunes around, writes David Hall.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
EA entrenches 10kW export limit for residential solar
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The Electricity Authority intends to require all electricity networks to offer at least a 10 kilowatt (kW) export capacity for residential rooftop and other small-scale distributed generation.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Renewable build-out runs into grid and firming limits
Wed 8 Apr 2026
New Zealand's electricity market entered 2026 with renewable generation at record levels and a substantial build pipeline finally moving from paper to construction. The harder question is whether the wider system can absorb and firm that capacity fast enough.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Govt tweaks consenting rules for EV chargers
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has announced a national reset of planning rules for EV chargers, which it says aim to address infrastructure shortages which have put the brakes on electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Solar energy, cheap battery storage can meet 90% of India’s power demand at affordable costs: Ember report
Thu 9 Apr 2026
Battery storage is now cheap enough in India that solar power can meet 90% of the country’s power demand at lower lifetime costs than current average purchase rates in most states, a new study has found, a finding that could potentially point to a future buffer against global energy shocks.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
2 Apr 2026
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
